1. Cultural Differences
Session Four

2. Agenda
Culture
Consequences of Culture for HRM
Expatriates

3. What is Culture?
Culture consists of patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values.

4. What is Culture?
Culture consists of patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values.

5. Research on Culture
Most important works on culture come from … the Netherlands.
Hofstede research: questionnaire to all IBM offices around the world asking about cultural values

6. Five Dimensions of Culture

7. Individualism vs. Collectivism
Individualism: ties between people are loose and people look after their own interests
Collectivism: emphasis on social ties and bonds between people (people are part of cohesive groups)

8. Power Distance
‘The extent to which members of a society accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally.’ (Hofstede, 1991)
Perceived distance between superior and subordinate.

9. Uncertainty Avoidance
Reflects a society’s tolerance for situations of uncertainty and ambiguity and the extent to which it tries to manage these situations by
Providing explicit and formal rules and regulations
Rejecting deviant ideas and behavior

10. Masculinity vs. Femininity
‘Masculine’ social values: money, achievement, recognition
‘Feminine’ social values: more concern for people and quality of life
In masculine societies the role between males and females are more rigidly defined

11. Time Orientation (later added)
Long-term orientation: values saving and persistence in achieving goals.
Hong Kong: high rate of per capita savings
Short-term orientation: maintaining personal stability or happiness and living in the present

12. How does Hong Kong score?
A= True, B= False
Hong Kong scores relatively high in individualism.
Hong Kong scores low on uncertainty avoidance.

13. How do YOU score?
Cross-Cultural Values Survey

14. Agenda
Culture
Consequences of Culture for HRM
Expatriates

15. How Culture affects HRM
Training of employees
Motivation of employees
Leadership and decision making
Organizational structure

16. Training and Developing a Global Workforce
Table 15.1

17. Motivation UK

18. Leadership and decision making
MBO (Management by Objectives): Management tool which motivates personnel by setting mutually agreed objectives between a boss and his/her subordinates.
Requires low power distance
Also, in feminine cultures more emphasis on consensus.

19. Organizational Structure

20. Cultures in Hong Kong
Relatively less heterogeneous in Hong Kong than in the US or Europe
Major race components in Hong Kong firms
Local Hong Kong residents
Mainland Chinese
Taiwan Chinese
Caucasians
Indian or Pakistanis
Southeast Asians
Black
Hong Kong firms are highly export oriented.

21. Cultural diversity Previous session: Lack of cohesiveness leads to:
Lower levels of participation within a group
Lower levels of conformity to group norms
Less emphasis on group goal accomplishment
In short: Team will be less effective
How to manage cultural diversity?
One framework: The Johari Window

22. Managing cultural diversity: The Johari Window
KNOWN TO SELF
UNKNOWN TO SELF
KNOWN TO OTHERS
UNKNOWN TO OTHERS
OPEN
BLIND
HIDDEN
UNKNOWN

23. Managing cultural diversity: The Johari Window
KNOWN TO SELF
UNKNOWN TO SELF
KNOWN TO OTHERS
UNKNOWN TO OTHERS
OPEN
BLIND
HIDDEN
UNKNOWN

24. Managing cultural diversity: The Johari Window
KNOWN TO SELF
UNKNOWN TO SELF
KNOWN TO OTHERS
UNKNOWN TO OTHERS
OPEN
BLIND
FEEDBACK
DISCLOSURE
HIDDEN
UNKNOWN

25. Test Your Knowledge
Employees from a high-power distance culture would feel most comfortable in a training class that:
Involved several group activities with classmates
The teacher was the expert and responded definitively to all questions
The teacher acted as a facilitator of group discussion
None of the above

26. Agenda
Culture
Consequences of Culture for HRM
Expatriates

27. Foreign Assignments
Would you consider taking a foreign assignment for a 6 months to 1 year duration?
A=Yes, B=No
Before you took on a foreign assignment, what would you want to know?

28. Cross-Cultural Preparation
Training to prepare employees and their family members for an assignment in a foreign country
Three phases:
Preparation – language instruction and an orientation to the foreign country’s culture
Assignment – combination of formal program and mentoring to understand the foreign country’s culture
Returning - providing information about the employee’s community and home country workplace

29. Emotional Cycle Associated with a Foreign Assignment

30. Emotional Cycle Associated with a Foreign Assignment
Honeymoon
High
Culture Shock
Adjustment
Mood
Learning
Low
Months in Foreign Culture

31. Managing Expatriates
In the US, 16-40% of expatriates do not complete their assignment
Challenges with managing expatriates include:
Selection
Preparing
Compensating
Managing Performance
Repatriation

32. Selecting Expatriate Managers
A successful expatriate manager must have the ability to:
Maintain a positive self-image
Foster relationships with the host-country nationals
Perceive and evaluate the host country’s environment accurately

33. Compensating Expatriates

34. Repatriation Repatriation Activities that support repatriation:
The process of preparing expatriates to return home from a foreign assignment
Activities that support repatriation:
Communication
Validation

35. Test Your Knowledge
John, an expatriate working in Hong Kong is feeling very uncomfortable in his surroundings. He often feels as if he has said the wrong thing. John is most likely in which emotional stage of expatriation:
Honeymoon
Culture shock
Learning
Adjustment

36. Brief Introduction to Hot Seat Case 8 Cultural Differences
Michael, Director at Mustang Jeans (US).
Norio, Vice President at PopWear (Japan).
Norio has been working on a deal with Michael’s predecessor, Roger. Michael has just taken over the position. Norio and Michael have their first meeting at Mustang Jeans’ headquarters.

37. Guest Speaker: Dana Breitenstein
15 years of experience in inter-
cultural training and consulting
Director Intercultural Services, Asia
Pacific, Cartus
Speaks English, Swedish, Japanese and learning Mandarin
M.Sc. from Columbia University